Commemorative Book Announced for 50th Anniversary

Posted on May 11, 2012 by admin

As part of the many festivities planned in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Coconut Grove Arts Festival, one of South Florida’s cultural icons, HCP/Aboard Publishing has been commissioned to write and print a commemorative book detailing the history of the Arts Festival and its impact on the community.

“HCP/Aboard’s intimate knowledge of the Miami market made our decision to partner with them on this project an easy one,” said Monty Trainer, president of the Coconut Grove Arts Festival (CGAF).  “They are an award winning custom publisher with tremendous roots in our community, and as part of The Miami Herald Publishing Company HCP can offer the resources of a world-renown newspaper organization to the CGAF narrative.”

The 200+ page coffee-table quality book will be created in a hardcover format and will depict the vivid and illustrious history of the festival, its impact on all aspects of the arts in the region and its place as one of the nation’s largest outdoor arts festival.

Historic images chronicling five decades will accompany stories dating from the Arts Festival’s beginnings in 1963 as an intimate “clothes line” art show featuring a handful of artists and a few thousand onlookers.  The publication will bring to life some of the most significant events, places, people, programs, and traditions that are part of the festival.

“The Arts Festival has played a key role in the development of the region as an artistic hub where aspiring artists want to show off their talents,” said Jack Eads, Chairman of the CGAF.

Proceeds from the commemorative book will be used to enhance funding for the Coconut Grove Art & Historical Society scholarships and art education training.

“We are thrilled to be part of this momentous celebration, said Garry Duell, Jr., Publisher of   HCP/Aboard.  “We look forward to chronicling the past 50 years of an event that has mirrored the explosive growth of art, design and architecture in one of the world’s most vibrant cities.”

Those companies or individuals interested in learning more about this project should contact Carol Brenner at 954-224-9297, cpbrenner@gmail.com, or Garry Duell, Jr. at 305-376-2686, gduell@hcpaboard.com.

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Media Contact: Melissa Nobles / (305) 447-1224 / melissa@kiskinis.com
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Grove Experiences an “Art Attack” at Last Grove Gallery Walk

Posted on April 16, 2012 by admin

Meme Ferre debuted her latest exhibition “Raw Energy / Energía Cruda”at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival Gallery during this month’s past Grove Gallery Walk on Saturday, April 7.

On display until June, her pieces combine colors of the Caribbean and the iconic mysticism of India, and transport the observer to a separate experience. Like the energies of the trade winds of the tropics, each abstracted brush stroke stirs up an intense, almost physical, force across the pieces colors.

Currently, Ferre is also an art teacher with Miami-Dade Public Schools. During the exhibition opening, she hosted a special pre-party for children, titled “Art Attack.” Ferre, alongside local artist Joey Diez, painted to music while encouraging children to participate.

Here is a video from the unique “Art Attack” party:

To view photos from the event, visit SocialMiami.com here: http://www.socialmiami.com/go/meme-ferre-art-show-5085.asp?p=1

 

 

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Major Retrospective of Internationally Acclaimed Collage Artist Erika King

Posted on April 9, 2012 by printern

What’s Happening at the Galleries

By Donna Sweeny

Major Retrospective of Internationally Acclaimed Collage Artist Erika King

A mainstay of the Miami art scene for the last four decades, collage artist Erika King will be exhibiting her work at the Hunter Gallery from April 7th through May 25th.

Born in Philadelphia, Erika lived and studied art in Europe for 16 years and moved to Miami in 1970.   Her interest in collage began when she viewed the cutting-edge work of Robert Rauschenberg in the early 1960’s and she was inspired, too, by the residents of the artist colony in Majorca where she was living.  One of her first pieces, completed in 1965, is entitled Guardian Angel and it is on view in this exhibit.

“I consider this exhibit the highlight of my career because it shows the first collages created in the 1960s, and then a decade-by-decade selection culminating in the four pieces created in the last two years,” Erika explains.“This is an overall statement of the evolution of my spirit.”

Erika will be at the Hunter Gallery from 2 – 6 PM, Tuesday through Saturday, for the length of the exhibit. You won’t want to miss this chance to spend time with one of the icons of the Miami art scene, and learn how she creates her collages.

 

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New Shows by Local Legends Erika King and Meme Ferre Debut in Coconut Grove

Posted on March 16, 2012 by admin

New Shows by Local Legends Erika King and Meme Ferre Debut in Coconut Grove

Sister galleries, CGAF and Jim Hunter, host dual opening receptions on Saturday, April 7

Any outsider might incorrectly assume that tropical Miami doesn’t experience a change in its seasons. Yet, like any local will tell you, Spring brings a sense of even more desired sunshine, laid back behavior and lively moods than this beach town is accustomed to. In already colorful Coconut Grove, two longtime local artists will debut new, vibrant and powerful exhibitions on Saturday, April 7 as the Jim Hunter Gallery and Coconut Grove Arts Festival (CGAF) Gallery welcome “Evolution of Spirit” and “Raw Energy / Energía Cruda,” respectively.

“Nostalgia series”, 1978.

With a master, retrospective collage collection, Erika King’s “Evolution of Spirit” displays iconic images of the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Statue of Liberty, Native Americans, angels and even Marilyn Monroe, through the use of familiar fragments of sheet music, stamps and torn foreign currency. Considering the collages a process of evolving spiritual moments, the ethereal paintings recall her fascination with the sky and cloud formations while traveling by air in 1965 to 2012.

“The splashes of paint and connecting lines evoke energy and vibration waves which I feel unifies us all,” said King. “I take my time to focus on a fond, deep search for spirituality within each one.”

Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Erika King is a long-time Miami-based artist known for her corporate, commemorative and celebrity collages. She received formal training from L’Ecole de Beaux Art in Paris and has exhibited throughout Europe, Venezuela, New York City and San Francisco. Her corporate collages have been commissioned by American Express, Texaco, United Way, Anheuser Busch, Blockbuster Entertainment, AT&T Wireless, Nokia, Radio Shack and AIG, among many other Fortune 500 companies.

OBSERVING, 2011 Mixed media on canvas 30” x 42”

Channeling similar vibes, Meme Ferre debuts at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival Gallery next door, paintings with transcendent realities in her exhibition “Raw Energy / Energía Cruda.” Combining colors of the Caribbean and the iconic mysticism of India, Ferre’s pieces transporting the observer to separate experience. Like the energies of the trade winds of the tropics, each abstracted brush stroke stirs up an intense, almost physical, force across the pieces colors.

“In some not too distant future, we will all be sustained by the gathering of the wind emitted by raw energy,” said Ferre. “These windy spirits, like distant drums, help us achieve a sustainable lifestyle. I have used there forces and energies as my muses for this series of artwork.”

Ferre’s artwork can currently be found at the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center in Key Biscayne. She has exhibited in London, New York City, Washington D.C, Brooklyn, Miami, Palm Beach, Venice, Ibiza and Provincetown, as and has also debuted performance art and installations at such events as the Miami International Film Festival and the Miami International Book Fair. Ferre received a BFA from the Pratt Institute and an MA from New York University. She was also a Museum Educator of Art in Public Places for Miami-Dade County. Currently, Ferre is an art teacher at Miami-Dade Public Schools.

Both the Jim Hunter Gallery and the Coconut Grove Arts Festival Gallery are funded by proceeds from the annual Coconut Grove Arts Festival event. Presenting special exhibitions throughout the year from their locations at Mayfair, both galleries are managed by the non-profit Coconut Grove Arts and Historical Association and serve as a hub for cultural activities in Coconut Grove. Since its inception in 1963, the association has awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to students who attend fine arts programs in local schools.

For more information about the Jim Hunter Gallery and the Coconut Grove Arts Festival Gallery, please visit www.cgaf.com.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Kiskinis Communications, Inc

Melissa Nobles 305-447-1224

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Exhibition of Works by Jacqueline Roch and Daniel Caldwell

Posted on March 5, 2012 by printern

What’s Happening at the Galleries

By Donna Sweeny

Exhibition of Works by Jacqueline Roch and Daniel Caldwell

During the month of March, the Hunter Gallery will be exhibiting the works of two award-winning South Florida artists, Jacqueline Roch and Daniel Caldwell.  The opening reception with the artists will be held on March 3rd from 7 PM to 9 PM.

A native of Los Angeles, Roch was raised on Miami Beach where she was formally trained in oil painting; she continued her art education at Parsons School of Design, and later pursued a career in graphic design in New York.  Returning to Miami, she received a B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Miami and a Master’s degree in Art Education at FIU where she began working with pastels.  Taking her inspiration from South Florida’s lush scenery, Roch’s pastels are characterized by intense color, an influence of her early training in oil painting.

Throughout her career, Roch has been honored with countless awards and was invited to be a Signature Member of the prestigious Pastel Society of America. She often donates her work to charities for auction and enjoys visiting schools to work with children. She is now a resident artist at the historic Bakehouse Art Complex.

Growing up in Miami, Daniel Caldwell spent his formative years sailing, fishing and diving in Biscayne Bay and in the Florida Keys.  He pursued his passion for surfing while attending high school at the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Cape Hatteras where he began sketching and painting the local fishermen, fish houses and wooden boats. While earning a B.A. in Graphic Design & Advertising at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, he was influenced by the area’s arts community and continued his education at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.  Returning to South Florida, Caldwell pursued a career as art director and vice president of his family’s silkscreen printing company.

He has devoted the last 10 years to painting full time, and is presently working on a series of paintings of the colorful street scenes and figurative beach subjects of the Bahama out islands.

Caldwell has exhibited his works in numerous art shows and galleries, and his paintings are in private collections throughout the U.S. and in the U.K.

The Jacqueline Roch and Daniel Caldwell exhibit at the Hunter Gallery runs through March 23rd.

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Welcome to the CGAF Official Blog!

Posted on March 1, 2012 by admin

From our family at the Coconut Grove Art Festival, we hope to enrich your lives with inspirational works of art 365 days a year. Please visit our blog regularly to learn about local events taking place in South Florida and how to stay involved.

The Galleries

To promote the arts year round, the Coconut Grove Arts and Historical Society, which produces the Coconut Grove Arts Festival, has opened two art galleries exhibiting the works of emerging and established artists.  Both are located in the Mayfair Atrium at 3390 Mary Street in Coconut Grove.

Coconut Grove Arts Gallery I was opened in 2009, and Gallery II a year later.  In 2011, Gallery II was renamed the Hunter Gallery in honor of revered New World School of the Arts teacher Jim Hunter who was instrumental in every phase of the establishment of the gallery.

Exhibits at the galleries last for two months, with opening and closing receptions held on the first Saturday of the month throughout the year.

The Hunter Gallery also has an artist-in residence, George Bethea, who is best known for his colorful and textured paintings. Bethea has had numerous solo exhibitions and is widely reviewed in major metropolitan cities around the world. He has served as Director of the New Gallery at the University of Miami and as the Director of the Madrid Studio School of Drawing and Painting in Madrid. He provides assistance in launching art exhibitions, and is responsible for facilitating workshops and master classes.

Recent exhibitions in both galleries include:

Monumental sculptures by the late Manuel Carbonell, considered the last of the Cuban modern master sculptors.  This exhibit was presented in partnership with the Beaux Arts Gallery.

Photographs by multiple award-winning Patrick Farrell depicting the aftereffects of a brutal hurricane season in Haiti; this is the same series that earned him the 2009 Pulitzer Prize.

Recent works by famed blown glass artist Duncan McClellan.

Large-scale works by Danish-born designer and painter Hans Petersen.

Paintings by Florida International University’s recent BFA graduates.

40 award-winning paintings by member s of the Miami Watercolor Society.  Founded in 1974, the Society represents 130 local professional and emerging artists.

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